Amazing Transparent Man (1960)

Cast:

Marguerite Chapman is Laura Matson
Douglas Kennedy is Joey Faust
James Griffith is Major Paul Krenner
Ivan Triesault is Dr. Peter Ulof
Boyd 'Red' Morgan is Julian
Cormel Daniel is Maria Ulof

What the box says:

Crazed ex military officer Paul Krenner has dreams of world domination when he forces unwilling scientist Peter Ulof to do his bidding. Ulof must develop a process to induce invisibility through atomic-radiation. With this in his armory, Krenner plans to create an invisible military force and sell it to the highest bidder. They break safecracker Joey Faust out of jail and make him invisible so that he can steal more radium. Then events take an unexpected turn.

Plot:

Joey Faust breaks out of prison and gets away. Laura drives him to Major Krenner's ranch. Apparently, they need Joey as a safecracker. Krenner got him out of prison to do work for him or else.

I'm the evil mastermind Dr. Ulof explains the machine in the lab with technobbabbly Mr Scott of Star Trek couldn't decypher. Ulof zaps a guinea pig which turns invisible and is later returned to visiblity.
Of course, science is at work...

Later Joey knocks out the the guard, and sneaks back into the lab.

So, that makes me the hero.... Ulof reveals that Krenner is holding his daughter prisoner to force him tow work for him.
C'mon Doc, you gotta know how to fix a flux capacitor... During World War 2, Ulof was experimenting when Krenner captured him.

Joey tries convincing Laura to join him.

The next day, in the lab, Joey is readied for turning invisible ( in a non Scott Baio-Zapped way...) Once invisible, Krenner forgot that he couldn't hold Faust very easily. Choking Krenner, Faust gets a pay raise.

Why one shouldn't anger the invisble...

At a nuclear plant,, Faust walks past the guards and cracks the safe containing the radioactive materials.

Back at the lab, Ulof finds the guinea pig dead. Invisibility slowly kills those are invisible. Krenner wants Ulof to use the new X-13 material the next time on Faust even if it is more dangerous.

Faust is turned invisible again to hit the nuclear plant again. On the way, he decides to rob a bank instead. Walking out of the bank carrying a bag on money, Joey starts fading in and out of visibility.

'Don't lose your head' you think that's funny?

Teh security group from the nuclear plant knows about Joey being invisible.

Back at the ranch, Krenner hears of Joey's bank robbery.

Joey leaves Laura away and heads back to Krenner's ranch.

Krenner tries to convince Ulof to redo the formula and will free Maria, too. Faust knocks Krenner outUlof and Maria vow to help correct Joey from fading in and out of visibility. Ulof reveals Krenner's secret plan to create an army of invisible soldiers. Faust heads back to the ranch when he learns he only has a few days or weeks left at most.

Ulof and Maria get away. Laura rushes back to the ranch but is shot by Krenner. The fight is down to Krenner and partially visible Faust. Krenner tries the invisibility ray to zap Faust again. However, the X-13 compund reacts badly with the ray, and Big Badda Boom of an atomic bomb cloud ensues.

How science fiction must end in the 1950s....

Security guys examine the wreckage of the ranch from a distance. Ulof tells them how Krenner wanted to create an army of invisible soldiers.

What I say:

In imaginations, we wonder what it would be like to be invisible. However, invisibility in most movies isn't exactly known as a very good idea. Yes, it's more of a curse than a blessing. The Invisible Man has been turned into quite a few adaptations with many of the non-Robert Louis Stevenson versions have whoever's turned invisible going insane. Hollow Man had the idea that invisiblity allows us to do whatever we want without consequences. Ghost in the Shell was one non-insane invisible characters. Steve Guttenberg's Man Who Wasn't There used the power more as something then teens in Porky's would have appreciated.

Joey Faust is the closest thing in the movie to a hero by the end which isn't saying much. He starts off with just wanting to use the invisible formula to line his pockets. He's not that concerned with Ulof's terrors of the invisible army. After Laua gets shot, and he learns he doesn't have long left to live, he goes after Krenner, tooth and invisible nail.

Super-criminals aren't always exactly known for their brilliance. Krenner is some sort of dishonored military officer that decides to create an army of invisible soldiers. An army of invisible soldiers does sound slightly more believable than the army of immortal, invisible vampire Hulk monsters who know Kung Fu and pilot submarines from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Krenner may have been planning on selling his invisible soldier formula to he highest bidder. Call this our tip to all the evil super-geniuses out there if you plan on creating an invisible army, you better have a way of finding them just in case they try to desert or attack you.

The title isn't quite right. Transparent is different than invisible. Transparent can be seen through but isn't invisible. A clear glass is transparent but not invisible. Parts of Faust start re-appearing which typically would bother most people. A floating disembobied head would normally draw quite a bit of attention from repulsion or the "car wreck" attraction mentality. This is a very short movie barely an hour that doesn't have time to drag things. I do wonder if it was intended to be longer about 90 minutes rather than just the probably the 2nd half on a drive-in double feature.

Quotable Dialogue
"Include me a long way out..."
"A man with a gun doesn't need to bargain."
"Keep your eye on the guinea pig."
"Better leave off the giggle water."
Morals of the Story
Sleeping drunks are funny.
All science labs need plenty of flashing lights.
Invisible men easily win fights.